Always My Girl

Samantha Chase

Jul 2016 · Sourcebooks, Inc.

About this ebook

Falling in love with your best friend? Easy.
Telling them how you really feel? Impossible.

Quinn Shaughnessy believes there's a lot more to life than romance, and he always thought his best friend Anna agreed. But now she's coming out of her shell and dating...and Quinn starts seeing her in a very different light.

Anna can tell Quinn anything, except the big secret she's been hiding for years—that she's fallen in love with him. Now Anna is determined to make a life for herself that doesn't include hopeless pining. But just as she's ready to move on, Quinn seems determined not to let go—and the way he's looking at her might be enough to finally change them from best friends to best everything.

Ratings and reviews

Always My Girl by Samantha Chase is the third book in her Shaughnessy Brothers series. It is a sweet story that focuses Anna Hannigan and Quinn Shaughnessy. These two were best friends and next door neighbors growing up. Anna was a tomboy who started falling for Quinn as she grew older. Quinn didn’t seem to notice Anna except as his best friend. Anna was tired of being overlooked and felt she was in a rut. Needing a change, she left her job at the pub to sell real estate. She’s not happy with her change, but believes it’s the only way to meet dateable men. Quinn doesn’t know what hit him when he realizes that Anna has curves and is beautiful. Both worry that their friendship will not survive if they enter into a relationship. What comes next is a roller coaster ride of two wonderful people forgetting to be friends when they become lovers. The question remains, will they be able to salvage their friendship and stay in a relationship. This was a fun and entertaining story with likeable characters that you want to support and cheer on hoping for that happy ending. The characters were well written and complex. The story line was riveting and kept my attention to the very end. I really enjoyed reading this book and had trouble putting this book down. I highly recommend this book to other readers. Although this book is part of a series, it does stand alone and it doesn’t matter if you haven’t read the previous books. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Twenty four years ago, the Hannigans moved next door to the Shaughnessys. Six year-olds Anna Hannigan and Quinn Shaughnessy became best friends almost immediately. Unfortunately for Anna, some years later, she fell in love with Quinn, but he could never see beyond his tomboy best friend. Quinn always took Anna for granted, and as with everyone else, he used his considerable charm to get his way, while Anna always bent over backwards to make him happy. The Shaughnessys are getting ready to celebrate Aidan’s wedding to Zoe, and the whole family is reunited under one roof. Anna is also there, sunning herself her face hidden by a hat, and Quinn doesn’t recognise her. He finally realises that his best friend is a … girl! ALWAYS MY GIRL begins as light, humorous fluff, as the house is filled with boisterous Shaughnessys and their friends and significant others. Ms. Chase’s dialogues sparkle with wit, and sound so authentic, you feel part of the family. Anna still carries her torch for Quinn, who suddenly realises what was in front of him all this time, and eventually agrees to have a go at it, and this is where things get awfully messy. Or more to the point, so realistic, that you have the feeling of watching a relationship unfold in real time, with all its joyous moments, as well as heartbreaking ones. Let’s be honest: Quinn was a jerk, a charming one albeit, but still a selfish jerk. And I felt so sorry for poor Anna, whom everybody loves as their buddy, but not as a lovely woman, and wasting decades of unrequited love while watching Quinn live it up. Both Anna and Quinn are at a crossroads in their lives, and without saying anything else about the plot, not much happened how I expected. There is much character growth, as well as surprising developments with other characters, and even though ALWAYS MY GIRL is the third instalment of the series and there are references to the previous books, it works perfectly as a standalone. Once again, Samantha Chase displays her immense skills at weaving a compelling story with multilayered characters that will captivate anyone looking for an intelligent and beautifully written story. I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

With Love Walks In having been a tearjerker, Always My Girl Has lightened things up with Quinn and Anna's story. Sometimes less is more. Samantha Chase came back swinging with this hilarious take on romance. Quinn does not do well with change, so when his best friend turns the tables on him and goes from girl next door to woman of his dreams anything can happen. Always My Girl is a fun friends to lovers novel that proves the versatility of Ms. Chase. She can do it all.

About the author

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she's not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene...oh, and spending time with her husband of 27 years and their two sons in North Carolina.